The tragedy that befell 17-year-old Kian Loyd Delos Santos allegedly in the hands of Philippine police officers is truly an outrage. No kid deserves to die that way. And so it is, like in any society that aspires to be a truly just and modern one, imperative that justice be sought for the wrongful death of Delos Santos.

The important question therefore is this: How exactly will this justice be effected in this instance? Via the criminal justice system? What’s the alternative? A street rally again? Unfortunately, within hours of his death breaking news, Delos Santos has become the most recent of a string of victims turned into political artefacts by a desperate and rudderless Opposition.

Indeed, Delos Santos is but the latest such artefact cast in the mold of the original artefact that started a long tradition of necropolitics in the Philippines, none other than Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino Jr. Yet the murder of Aquino himself back in 1983 remains unsolved. So one just has to ask: How can justice for Delos Santos be delivered when Ninoy’s own son, a former Philippine president himself, could not see to it that his own father’s murder is solved while he was in power?

For that matter, Filipinos don’t really need to go too far beyond their own day-to-day existence to reflect on the inherent hypocrisy in some of the outrage fads their “activists” launch into. How, for example, can a people issue calls for “justice” whenever the latest outrage circus is in town when easy-to-solve everyday injustices cannot even be rectified? Manila’s horrendous traffic, for example has unjustly sentenced millions of Filipinos to prison time within their own cars befitting murderers. But is there justice in the way buses and jeepneys routinely clog half the width of Manila’s roads loading and unloading passengers illegally with impunity?

Therein the answer to those questions lies the answer to why nothing changes where it matters. Because many things Filipinos consider unimportant actually matter a lot. It starts with small things. The easy solutions cannot even be implemented. The smallest injustices cannot even be resolved. How then could Filipinos hope to solve the truly big problems?

It is, indeed, the height of hypocrisy for a people who can’t follow even simple traffic rules to call for “justice for Delos Santos”.

Those street kids you drive by everyday? How come nobody is outraged about them? And yet here we are screaming #JusticeForKian.

And take that manhole on the street that has remained uncovered for weeks. Someone could be seriously injured or even be killed by such banal hazards that are easily corrected. Filipinos’ low regard for public safety attests to a disturbingly low regard for human life. Yet they now scream #JusticeForKian like human life suddenly turned to gold.

The fact is, the scale of banal injustice in the Philippines that fails to launch outrage fads dwarfs those alleged “extrajudicial killings” idiots shriek about today. There is, to cite another example, “senator” Antonio Trillanes who, over the 2000s led and was involved in several armed rebellions. Here is a man who endangered thousands of Filipino lives. He was elected a Senator nonetheless. #JusticeForKian? Seriously?

You can’t take seriously a people who can’t even solve small everyday acts of impunity when they cry #JusticeForKian. There are many Filipinos — unsung victims of injustice — who don’t get the same sort of Outrage Fad treatment #JusticeForKian gets because of political agendas. You want #JusticeForKian? Don’t turn him into just another political artefact. Learn that real justice can only be achieved on the back of consistency.

I don’t understand why begrudge those with political agenda to use the death of Kian for their selfish motive. As for me it is still better that someone will show outrage REGARDLESS of motive rather than be silent. The only question that matters is should we show outrage over this incident or should Pnoy show outrage when he could not even solve the murder of his own father. I still prefer Pnoy or other hypocrites show outrage than be silent just because they have selfish motives.

“Justice for Kian” is another idiotic political agenda , used by the Aquino Cojuangco political axis, Trillanes and Leni Robredo, the Liberal Party and any opposition of any shade.

The victims of the : Hacienda Luisista massacre; the Mendiola massacre; the Mamapasano masscre; the Maguindanao massacre; and all other massacres, done during the Aquino era, are still Crying for Justice…

Their voices are silenced by the killing for one person…the massacres, I have cited are many people murdered, and are forgotten.

So, we cry: “Justice for all Massacre Victims” , murdered under the Aquino Era !

Clearly this isn’t the first time there’s such this case of police abuse, brutality and deceit and cover up! (For one there’s John dela Riarte, 27, who then figured in a traffic accident before, was also a victim by some arresting members of the police Highway Patrol Group (HPG) who reportedly handcuffed him and led him to their vehicle but then later lay dead from four gunshots to the neck, chest and waist. He had no criminal record and was not a drug user. He was on first day on the job but turned out to be his last day… Read more »

If they assume the ‘truth’ to be negotiable based on whether or not it serves their agenda, then their agenda has become their ‘truth.’ And the ‘truth’ of the matter is, when they do this they’ve chosen to take a treacherous path through some very deep woods where neither path nor woods exist.

@brukokoy There’s no solid evidence to say that. Yes, it’s possible that he could have been involved in drugs, but have you also considered the possibility that evidence was planted by the cops at the scene?

@gebot That clearly wasn’t the point of the article. “It’s just a boy”, but that doesn’t make this issue any less important because these are valid concerns regarding the safety of the public. Each individual case like this is important and is worth discussing. The surprising thing is that this became a fad while tons of other similar issues didn’t.

The Philippine Police have become a special kind of terrorist sanctioned by the state. Their shiny badge gives them a license to officially terrorize everyone in the name of the law.

The Philippine President is so artfully cunning (“If your life is in danger, shoot them!”). And the police are so gifted themselves being innovative and inventive as they can be- to protect and serve the Life-Outta of Everyone as mandated.

Tanim-bala supplanted by tanim-droga at may baril pa! Very clever and innovative talaga!

The only reason why people and MSM are crazy about that boy right now is that the case serves as an ammo in the rhetoric against the present administration by the power-grabbing opportunists in the opposite side of the fence. You think these morons suddenly gave that MUCH premium to the average Pinoy pedestrian’s life after so many (who died more horrifically and were simply reduced as an ‘oh well better them not me’ statistic) who came before that kid? Gimme a break. If anything, these vultures were practically celebrating that event for having something that they could throw at… Read more »

Let’s consider one scenario, both for the cops and the suspect killed: the cop is found guilty for use of excessive force (either from error of judgment or some other fault). The cop will then be jailed and legal justice supposedly served. What happens to the morale of other police doing anti-drug operations? At best, they’ll be more cautious. At worst, they’ll be dangerously reluctant when engaging suspects and criminals. Which is the more probable? What is clear and definite is that we have to decide. Not all “morally correct” decisions lead to moral outcomes. And those positioning themselves as… Read more »

May I ask what exactly is that “clear and definite” that we do have to decide on? To be cautious is not a bad idea! But…if one may ask, why is the PH Government too cautious also to prosecute the people (some Chinese nationals included) behind those several big Shabu Labs busted by the police operatives? They have been some time already, don’t you think? Still, we can add to that the President’s now updated “Narco Lists”! But ’till now we’re still in the dark. We can only guess, maybe they’re just being cautious and exercising due process as a… Read more »